Classics
Rose in Bloom
by Louisa May Alcott
The sequel to Eight Cousins. Rose is grown up now and ready to enter society. Even though she is an heiress and could flaunt her wealth and waste it on frivolous things, she remains true to her wise uncle's teaching (not without some tasting of the world's tantalizing pleasures). Contains wise advice for courtships and preparing for marriage, as well as seeking the better (more eternal) things of life. There were some truly laugh-out-loud funny moments, such as when a socially inept cousin tries to learn how to dance -- with the help of his brother and various chairs. A delightfully clean courtship story that focuses on excellent moral character, rather than on physical attraction and emotional "chemistry". Narrator Barbara Caruso does another fantastic job of narrating Alcott's books. The more I read (listen to) Louisa May Alcott, the more I'm falling in love with her works.
Newberry
None this month.
Nonfiction
None this month.
Just For Fun
Racso and the Rats of NIMH
by Jane Leslie Conly
A sequel to Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. This was written by the daughter of the author of Mrs. Frisby. The rats have been in their new colony at Thorn Valley, deep in the wilderness of a protected natural area. However, a corrupt politician and his relative have arranged a contract to built a dam on the river, flood the valley, and turn it all into a tourist attraction. The rats work to sabotage the effort. There's a bit of '70s or '80s popular culture -- from a city rat who comes to join them -- but the rats of NIMH aren't impressed. Overall, I liked it better than I did the first time I read it many years ago.
Paddington Here and Now
by Michael Bond
The 12th book in the Paddington series. In addition to the usual scrapes and unpleasant encounters with Mr. Curry, we find out that Paddington has an uncle! Read aloud to my 11 and under crowd.
Paddington Races Ahead
by Michael Bond
The 13th book in the Paddington series. These last several were written many years after the original set. Makes me wonder if they were really written by the same man, or someone else ghost writing under his name. I can't tell by the writing style. Though not much time seems to have elapsed, life is more modern in the later books (computers, card readers, etc.). Some of the words and phrases are distinctly UK and might not make much sense to US readers, especially kids in the intended audience. But it doesn't detract too badly from enjoying the overall gist of the stories. Read aloud to my 11 and under crowd.
One of our geography lessons this month was about Israel, so we read several picture books about the country. (By the way, I've been pleased with the material in Let's Go Geography. It includes maps, flags, music, and videos about each country. You could probably search YouTube yourself for the videos, but this saves a lot of time.)
Hare and Tortoise Race Across Israel
by Laura Gehl
The classic story of the hare and tortoise, retold in the setting of modern day Israel.
Itzhak: A Boy Who Loved the Violin
by Tracy Newman
A picture book biography of Itzhak Perlman, the famous violinist. Of course, I've heard of him all my life, but I never knew he walked with crutches because of polio as a child.
Jodie's Shabbat Surprise
by Anna Levine
Jodie is trying to think of something special to give to her archaeologist father for his birthday. One Shabbat, while she and her dog are at a park, the dog falls into a hole. It turns out to be a great archaeological discovery -- an old grape-pressing vat. Based on a true event.
Judaism in Israel
by Frances Hawker
Describes some of the customs of different flavors of Judaism, as practiced in Israel.
Snow in Jerusalem
by Deborah da Costa
A white cat regularly visits two boys in the Old City of Jerusalem, one in the Jewish quarter, and one in the Muslim quarter. On a rare snowy day in Jerusalem, she brings the two boys together with her newborn kittens.
Another geography lesson was about Iran, so we read the following picture books.
Navid's Story
by Andy Glynne
A picture book story of a young boy from Iran fleeing the country due to persecution of his father by the government.
My Grandma and Me
by Mina Javaherbin
A young Iranian girl tells of her life with her grandmother. Interestingly, the grandmother has a Christian friend with whom she regularly visits. Their granddaughters also are friends. Both grandmothers pray at their respective religious services that the other will find the way to heaven.
Two Parrots
by Rashin
An Iranian folk tale about a parrot who tricked his owner into giving him his freedom.
Yet another geography lesson was about Afghanistan, so we read these:
Four Feet, Two Sandals
by Karen Lynn Williams
Two girls in a refugee camp in Pakistan/Afghanistan share a pair of sandals and become friends.
Waiting for the Owl's Call
by Gloria Whelan
A young girl in Afghanistan works from dawn to owl's call on a loom, weaving a colorful rug. While she weaves the pattern with her sisters, she weaves her own pattern in her head.
Nasreen's Secret School
by Jeanette Winter
Nasreen goes to a secret school in her village in Afghanistan.
Extra Credit
by Andrew Clements
Listened to the audio with the kids, during our study of Afghanistan. See review from June.
We also spent a week learning about India.
The Boy Who Grew a Forest : The True Story of Jadav Payeng
by Sophia Gholz
About 40 years ago, a young boy in India planted a few seedlings on a sandbar. Today there is a forest and many species of animals have returned to the area. Interesting and inspiring.
Desert Gil, Monsoon Boy
by Tara Dairman
A simple picture book comparing and contrasting the lives of people living in different parts of India.
The Boy Who Dreamed of Infinity: A Tale of Genius Ramanujan
by Amy Alznauer
A picture book biography of the brilliant Srinivasa Ramanujan, who was born in India in 1887, who saw math everywhere. He was bored in school and eventually ended up in Cambridge, England sharing his mathematical thoughts with scholars there.
I've been trying to work with my younger ones on parts of speech, so we've read and enjoyed the following books about nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs.
A Mink, a Fink, a Skating Rink : What is a Noun?
by Brian P Cleary
A humorously illustrated book with rhyming text to introduce kids to nouns.
A Lime, a Mime, a Pool of Slime: More about Nouns
by Brian P Cleary
A second book about nouns.
Hairy, Scary, Ordinary : What is an Adjective
by Brian P. Cleary
A humorously illustrated book with rhyming text to introduce kids to adjectives.
Quirky, Jerky, Extra Perky : More about Adjectives
by Brian P Cleary
A second book about adjectives.
Slide and Slurp, Scratch and Burp
by Brian P Cleary
A humorously illustrated book with rhyming text to introduce kids to verbs.
Dearly, Nearly, Insincerely
by Brian P Cleary
A humorously illustrated book with rhyming text to introduce kids to adverbs.
Lazily, Crazily, Just a Bit Nasally
by Brian P Cleary
A second book about adverbs.
How to Think Like a Scientist
by Stephen Kramer
A well-written book explaining the scientific method to children. Contains no evolution, just the basic scientific method : science must be observable, testable, repeatable.
Forces Make Things Move
by Kim Brubaker Bradley
A typical "Read-and-find-out" book about forces and Newton's laws of motion. Fun to read and fun to look at the illustrations.
History
I've been pre-reading some books, looking for some to expand on our history and geography studies later this year.
The Salem Witch Trials : An Unsolved Mystery from History
by Jane Yolen
A relatively factual account of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692, presenting background information, descriptions of the events, and some of the more popular theories explaining the events. It accurately summarizes it as "no one really knows what happened." I thought this was a good presentation of this event in history, without sensationalizing it.
Tituba of Salem Village
by Ann Petry
Historical fiction of the Salem Village witch hysteria, told from the point of view of Tituba, the slave of Reverend Parris, who seemed to be at the center of the story. Basically, this is a fleshed-out version of one of the theories presented in The Salem Witch Trials : Unsolved Mystery of History. I've gone back and forth about whether to have my older students read this when we get to this point in our history studies. It definitely needs to be read with discernment and critical thinking to sort out fact from fiction and to evaluate the thinking and behavior of the people involved in light of what the Scriptures teach. discussion of the phenomenon of mass hysteria could easily come out of this and be applied to modern day events.
The Stray and the Strangers
by Steven Heighton
A stray dog on an island in Greece learns to make friends with refugee workers and one refugee boy in a camp on the shore. A short chapter book. Interesting, but not real deep. Someone who truly knows dogs and/or the refugee situation might find points to nitpick at. But I didn't find anything objectionable.
The Scarlet Pimpernel
by Baroness Orczy
A rich young Englishman leads a band of loyal followers on a series of daring (even audacious) rescues of French aristocrats from the guillotine during the French Revolution. He always leaves behind a note with the symbol of a red flower -- the scarlet pimpernel -- as a sign of his work. His French wife does not know his identity, and he believes he must keep it a secret from her because she was implicated in the betrayal of a French aristocratic family. Under duress from a French government agent, she unwittingly betrays her husband. When she realizes what she's done, she seeks to save her husband or die by his side in the attempt. A very engaging and captivating story, though perhaps a bit over dramatic at times. The audiobook by Recorded Books was excellently narrated and very helpful in understanding the story. There is one use of "damn" near the end of the book and frequent uses of "demmed" and "Lud" (instead of "damned" and "Lord"). Although I enjoyed the story, I think it may be a bit too hard to follow for my kids at this point.
Journey to the River Sea
by Eva Ibbotson
Maia is a young English girl who lives in a boarding school. When her parents die, her guardian lawyer sends her with a new governess, Miss Minton, to her closest relatives, the Carters, who are rubber farmers in Brazil. Maia looks forward to learning about this new land and meeting her twin cousins. She is sorely disappointed to find that the Carters have no love for her and no love for the country they live in. She finds an ally in Miss Minton and in the natives who live on the property. She is also drawn into a mystery and adventure. Very well-written and intriguing. There are clues and hints dropped throughout the story that an alert reader will catch and use to solve the mystery as or before the characters do. I was tempted to start the story all over again as soon as I finished it.
